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L.A. stories of inspiration and success

L.A. stories of inspiration and success


Tacorra breaks up the broken and uneven trail using a pickax
The California Employment Development Department (EDD) National Dislocated Workers Grant (NDWG) provided paid work experience for workers to assist with recovery efforts to residents and businesses that were severely impacted by the state’s megafires.

One of the NDWG workers was Tocorra Haney, a crew member

(left to right) Christina Alcarez, Pedro Alcarez, and Pedro Alcarez Jr.
EWDD provides Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to the Los Angeles Food Policy Council (LAFPC), which spearheads the Healthy Neighborhood Market Network (HNMN).

The program improves the healthy food offerings of corner stores in Los Angeles by transforming corner

(left to right) Caroline Tarosis, Senior Deputy of Workforce Development & Economic Opportunity for the LA County Board of Supervisors; Carolyn Hull, General Manager of LA City's Economic & Workforce Development Department (EWDD); Angela Gibson-Shaw, President of the Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce (GLAAACC); and Capri Maddox, Executive Director of the City’s Civil+Human Rights and Equity Department - pictured at the September 8, 2022, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce ACCESS LA event
Equity in the Workplace

EWDD General Manager Carolyn Hull was recently a panelist for a “Women in the Workforce” event at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. The event was part of the chambers’ ACCESS L.A. Program, which connects local city and county policymakers and business leaders to address key policies and challenges.

Carolyn highlighted how EWDD has supported

Harris Brown, owner of the LA area My Fish Stop restaurants, serving happy customers at his North Hollywood location
BusinessSource Helps Restaurant Expand

Harris Brown, a Black and Native American disabled veteran, grew up in Louisiana. When he settled in Los Angeles, he opened My Fish Stop, a Gulf-style fish fry soul food restaurant in Sherman Oaks, to bring his family’s food to the region.

Harris worked closely with Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation (VSEDC), operator of the South LA and Watts BusinessSource Centers (BSC), to

(right to left) Porsche Skinner, CEO of the nonprofit Boundaries Beyond, with John Johnson and at a community service event for Crenshaw Magnet High School
As founder and CEO of Boundaries Beyond, Porsche Skinner has worked with homeless and family mission-focused individuals since 2018.

The company offers wrap-around services for homeless individuals and families. Its goal is to

Jennifer Silbert and Stephanie Choi, founders of Rewilder, an L.A. environmental company that aims to stop the 11 million tons of textiles that are landfilled globally by identifying, diverting, and upcycling waste materials in the supply chain
Rewilder, a sustainable woman and Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI)-owned company, was recently selected to provide their upcycled bags to the Ninth Summit of Americas in Los Angeles, which reflected the summit's theme of "Building a Sustainable, Resilient, and Equitable Future."

The start-up company is receiving resources from the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), one of several

Devin Rojas and Dianna Briggs, grandmother and grandson team that founded the Dandelion Entertainment production company
The West Valley BusinessSource Center (BSC) assisted grandmother and grandson team Dianna Briggs and Devin Rojas in building the social media presence of their company Dandelion Entertainment, which helped them secure their first production job. Through the City of LA's partnership with META's Career Connections Program, the company was assigned an intern who assisted them with developing their social media presence to promote their business.

The pair first visited the

Leslie Montoya speaks about her experience with the Angelenos Corps program
Leslie Montoya was scrolling through Instagram when she learned about Angeleno Corps, a 10-month program that would give her hands-on work experience in one of four areas: education and childcare, health and environmental justice, tech and digital assistance, or immigration advocacy. The program is

(left to right) Annemarie Feltman and Bacillia Acosta found employment relief through the COVID-19 National Dislocated Worker Grant program, a transitional employment program funded by the federal CARES Act
COVID-19 disproportionately impacted the lives of women and underscored the challenges women face in balancing family and workplace responsibilities, including Annemarie Feltman and Bacillia Acosta.

Annemarie was laid off from her job at the beginning of the pandemic, and Bacillia, a Watts resident, had been

Destiny Pineda at her full-time job as a Housing Support Specialist with HACLA
The Watts WorkSource Center, overseen by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA), helped Destiny Pineda obtain an internship that led to a full-time job as a Housing Support Specialist.

Destiny completed 1,000 hours as an administrative intern in

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